Ken was focused on not stepping into the pools of mud, while Esme was humming to herself like a princess.
"What?" He exclaimed, noticing that her clothes were perfectly clean despite having paid zero attention to where she'd been stepping. "I just saw you step into mud!"
"So? Hehe." Esme chuckled. "Angel benefits.
"Tsk…" Ken sighed, and that's when he noticed movement ahead.
Three men stepped out from behind trees, blocking the path. Their hands rested on their weapons.
"Well, well," said the scarred leader with a grin. "You must be the new Hunters in town."
Ken instantly knew something was off. The way they spread out and the way their eyes scanned his belongings, their objective was clear.
"Hand over everything you've got," the thin man said. "And maybe we let you walk away."
Ken raised an eyebrow. "You're mugging us? Are you serious?" His hand moved to his mouth, barely able to contain his laughter.
"Not serious," the redhead said, cracking his knuckles. "Deadly serious."
"I don't think so." Ken sighed.
"You don't want to die, do you?" The scarred man said as he stepped forward.
"I'm not getting mugged, you dickhead." Ken cursed. "I have a wedding to prepare for."
The three stepped closer, and Ken turned to Esme.
"Give me something."
"Something?"
"Yes! Something to fight with. Quickly! They're coming!"
Esme blinked. "Uh… You mean like a sword?"
"Yes!"
"I don't have swords."
"Just give me anything, then!"
She rummaged through some invisible inventory space, while Ken nervously waited, his gaze remaining locked on the approaching three Insect Hunters.
Suddenly, it appeared in Esme's hand, and she walked closer to place it in Ken's hand.
He lowered his gaze and,
"You…" Ken stared at it. "You just gave me bug spray."
"It's not just bug spray!" she said proudly.
The scarred man laughed. "This is rich. He's gonna spray us with perfume!"
"Bahahaha!"
"Just use it." Esme sighed. "Pull the trigger."
Ken was immediately hit with a vision of the bug spray letting out a tiny whiff, which would prove it to be less useful in this situation than pepper spray could have been.
"Fine." Ken sighed, giving up mentally.
He pulled the trigger and,
Psssssshhh!
"The fuck…?!"
A thick, greenish cloud burst out, rolling across the clearing like fog. It immediately covered the area, including the three Insect Hunters.
They coughed once, then their bodies locked up. Muscles spasmed. Their eyes widened. The three Insect Hunters collapsed like puppets and coughed continually.
"What… The… Hell…" the thin man muttered between his incessant coughs.
"Oh." Ken exclaimed. "It worked." He was impressed and unimpressed, both at the same time.
He turned to Esme. "You're not affected?"
"I am your System after all," she said smugly.
Ken sniffed the air. "Huh. Doesn't smell bad. Actually smells quite pleasant." He looked down at the paralyzed hunters. "This and my 'Poison Immunity' Skill are a good combo."
He cautiously walked closer to the coughing Insect Hunters, crouched, and stared each of them down. "I'm guessing that the three of you are the ones who scammed the village, right?"
The three thief could only lower their gazes and cough, completely at his mercy.
"I never want to see the three of you again, got it?"
They slowly, one by one, managed a nod.
"Good." Ken nodded as well.
Then, he calmly punched each of them unconscious.
Esme clapped slowly. "GG."
"Right," Ken muttered before looking to his right, then to his left.
Esme raised an eyebrow.
"What the… What the hell are you doing?" She shouted as he started rifling through their pockets.
Ken's gaze went to her, and he remained immobile for a bit.
"I'm mugging them-"
"WHY?!"
"I'm just taking back what they stole, alright? With interest! I'm giving back to the village anyway!"
"Are you giving back the interest as well?"
"..."
"Are you?"
"I wouldn't have to steal if you had a proper weapon for me!!"
"...!" The look of treason on Esme's face remained until Ken was done stealing everything of value from the unconscious Insect Hunters.
He found three coin pouches, a small dagger with a fancy hilt, s spear, a bow and a couple of arrows, some folded maps, and a strange crystal.
Ken carried everything in his arms, then turned towards Esme.
"Carry them for me?"
"..." She was his System, and System have an Inventory Function. "Sure." Esme sighed.
With a touch, she made each object disappear.
Ken only kept the iron mace, as his video game knowledge let him know that smashing bugs was more effective than slashing them.
"You needed video games to figure that out?"
"Shut up."
***Deeper into the woods,
"Hm." Ken stopped.
The air had grown humid, tinged with a faint, acrid smell.
Ken closed his eyes, focusing on his other senses.
Immediately, his "Pest Sense" Skill flared.
"We're getting close." He said, and continued walking.
"You know you're going to be fighting alone, right? Systems don't fight."
"Some do."
"Well, I certainly don't."
"Fine, whatever…"
The two reached a clearing, and Ken stopped for a bit to catch his breath. He turned towards Esme, who seemed in perfect shape despite the long hike. 'Of course. The one with the cheats doesn't fight… What kind of logic is that.' He sighed.
Two dozen steps later, a massive hole gaped in the earth, wide enough to swallow a house. Jagged dirt walls sloped down into darkness. The faint buzzing and chittering echoing from within made Ken's skin crawl.
"That's…" Ken muttered "A big hole."
"An astute observation." Esme said with a nod.
Ken's grip tightened around the mace in his right hand and on the bug spray canister in his left. He remembered Aria's bright eyes, Selene's blush, and the villagers' laughter at the feast.
"Alright," He exhaled sharply.
Ken stepped forward, boots crunching on loose soil.
The darkness swallowed them both as they descended into the hole.
"Time to become a Hero."